Keir Starmer is today facing growing calls for a national review of laws allowing the carrying of knives for religious reasons.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire has written to the Prime Minister demanding a review of religious exemptions on the carrying of knives after Henry Nowak, 18, was murdered by a man carrying a ‘Sikh dagger’ in Southampton.

It comes as the controversial case has been described as a ‘watershed moment for the Sikh community’ on their responsibilities under the law.

Commissioner Donna Jones described the murder of the university student as a ‘national tragedy’ after the victim was handcuffed as he lay dying when his killer Vickrum Digwa made false claims of racial abuse.

She said: ‘Henry was falsely accused of racially aggravated assault as he lay dying on the ground, while his attacker stood by denying the violent act he had inflicted upon him.

‘It is devastating the officers did not believe Henry when he said he’d been stabbed and couldn’t breathe. His death is a national tragedy. Central to this incident is the fact that Vickrum Digwa was able to carry a knife in public because there is an exemption for those who observe the Sikh faith to carry ceremonial daggers.

‘I intend to write to the prime minister to request a national review of the laws concerning the carrying of bladed articles under religious exemptions.’

 There have also been calls from various politicians to review the law, with Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesman saying: ‘I don’t care what religion you are. Nobody other than law enforcement will get to carry deadly weapons under a Reform government. Reform will repeal the exemption for Sikhs to carry the kirpan.’

Mr Nowak’s family has cautioned against ‘knee-jerk reactions’ but said: ‘People should not be able to walk openly through the streets of Britain carrying a 21cm blade.’

A review of existing exemptions to knife legislation is 'worthy of serious consideration' the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has suggested, but declined to agree to a formal review.

She said today: 'Our religious freedoms and the arrangements we have are long standing and have been designed to strike the right balance between religious freedom and public protection.

'I have said earlier in this debate that the wider question is something that is worthy of serious consideration, which is what I will give to it, but I would want to start that process by discussing with the Sikh community themselves, to knife crime campaigners, and also the police about this matter.

'That, I think, is the right way to proceed, rather than launching a formal review, because actually, as the judge found in this case, this was not an act of religious observance.

'The minute that knife was unsheathed to be used, it became a murder weapon, and the murderer has now faced the full force of the law.'

One of the key issues in the case is whether Digwa was entitled to carry the weapon.

The killer had a small ceremonial kirpan under his clothing, worn around his neck, which is permitted by law. 

But the murder weapon he used was a much larger 21cm blade and worn over his clothing. 

Prosecutors and the judge described it as a kirpan in court, but some commentators have suggested this could classify as another type of - illegal - ceremonial knife. 

Digwa argued that he was part of an order of Sikhs called the Nihang who have a tradition of having a ‘second knife, or kirpan and that is often fully visible.' 

But the judge in the case ruled that it was not a ‘strict requirement’ of his faith and pointed out that on the night of the murder neither his brother or father were dressed like him. 

Judge William Mousley, KC, said there is a ‘huge responsibility’ for Sikhs in being allowed to be in public with a knife ‘particularly in respect of the large dagger, a highly dangerous weapon, easily accessible to the wearer’.

Under the current law such a blade should not exceed 9 inches, the judge said.

But the College of Policing advises officers there is ‘no legally prescribed size’ of a kirpan under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 which allows the dagger-type blade secured in a scabbard to be worn for religious reasons.

The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 reaffirmed the right of the Sikh community to possess and supply kirpans, allowing the blade to be possessed in private for religious reasons and enabling it to be presented to others.

No strict size limit was set, although some institutions like courts and schools have their own rules on permitted kirpans.

Experts say there has never been an attack or murder associated with the kirpan until this case.

Gurnam Singh, a professor of sociology at the University of Warwick, who gave expert evidence during the trial, said he disagreed with the idea of banning Sikhs from being able to carry a kirpan, but added that there was ‘no good reason’ for Digwa to have had a second knife.

‘I think young Sikhs do need to realise that they have no automatic right to carry weapons, unless there is some demonstrable religious reason for doing so,’ he said.

‘This case, I think, is a bit of a watershed moment for the Sikh community to really take stock.’

Today, Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds signalled the government would not be looking to change the exemption.

He said: ‘There is an exception in terms of carrying bladed articles in public places for particular religious and ceremonial reasons,

‘And whilst, of course, we’ve been tightening up the law, we’ve banned things like terrible zombie knives, we’ve tightened up the law in terms of online purchasing of knives, it’s not about looking, I think, more broadly at that particular exception.

‘If you look at what the judge said in this case, the judge actually said that the minute that this perpetrator removed the blade from the sheath, you can forget any sense of there being some sort of exception to the law.

‘And he also said the fact that this perpetrator was willing to use a bladed article was an abuse of the privilege that Sikhs and indeed other religions have. It was something that made this case worse because of that abuse of that privilege.’

When asked if there will be a change in the law on the carrying of ceremonial knives, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: 'Longstanding legal protections are in place to ensure that Sikhs can carry kirpans as an important article of their faith, but our laws are very clear that any bladed article used to threaten or harm others is illegal.'

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told the Commons: ‘Carrying a knife for the purpose of religious observance is one thing. Using it, as so tragically occurred in this case, is quite another. It is a vile act, a crime of the utmost severity, and it will be met with the severest punishment.’